The text of the early editions of Shakespeare plays differ from one another in many ways, from single characters or punctuation to the addition or omission of long passages. Such variation among editions is always present when there is more than one edition, and it is not always possible to ascertain with certainty which is the most correct reading or the reading closest to Shakespeare's manuscript(s), none of which have survived, or Shakespeare's intentions.
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In Horatio's speech from the 'Ramparts Scene', for example, the early printed texts differ in many ways. Several differences exist between the First Folio and the Second Quarto texts:
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
Among the differences are the following:
Spelling and/or word choice:
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
Capitalization:
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
Punctuation:
 First Folio (1623) |
 Second Quarto Hamlet (1604/5) |
In addition, the Second Quarto prints 4 lines not found in the First Folio: 'The very place puts toyes of desperation . . . And heares it rore beneath'.
Horatio's speech is different again in the First Quarto of Hamlet. A few of the First Quarto's differences are indicated below:
First Quarto (1603)
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In addition to variant readings of this kind, all English books of Shakespeare's time exhibit variation within a single edition, due to the practice of correcting proof pages while the presses continued to run. Variations within an edition are called press variants.
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For a fuller tutorial on variant readings throughout Shakespeare's early printed texts, click here.
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